No matter how beautifully the Medinilla magnifica blooms, caring for it is so difficult that only experts can handle it. Even small mistakes lead to disease and pest infestation. Use these tips to care for a medinille.
How do I properly care for a Medinilla Magnifica?
To care for a Medinilla Magnifica, you should always keep the root ball slightly moist, avoid waterlogging and use lime-free water. Fertilize the plant once a week during the flowering phase and keep it cooler in winter, around 15 degrees Celsius. Cut off spent flowers and bare shoots to encourage growth.
What should you pay attention to when watering the Medinilla magnifica?
- Root ball must always be slightly moist
- Waterlogging should be avoided
- use room temperature, lime-free water
Medinilla magnifica does not tolerate any lime, neither in the substrate nor in the irrigation water. Therefore, only use stale water, preferably rainwater, which should not be too cold.
Never leave water in the saucer or planter, pour it out straight away.
How do you fertilize Medinilla magnifica?
The Medinille is fertilized during the flowering phase. To do this, add liquid fertilizer (€8.00 on Amazon) to the irrigation water once a week. But you can also ensure sufficient nutrients with sticks or slow-release fertilizer.
How do you cut a medinilla?
- Remove bare shoots
- cut off spent flowers
- shorten branches that are too close together
- Cut cuttings for propagation
Basically, the medinilla does not need to be cut. However, pruning can stimulate the growth of new shoots. If withered flowers are cut, the flowering period is extended.
When is it time to repot?
Medinilla magnifica is very fast-growing and needs a larger pot every two to three years. Repotting takes place in spring before the flowers form.
Take the plant out of the old container carefully as the branches break very easily.
What diseases and pests occur?
Root rot occurs due to waterlogging. Watch out for pests such as mealybugs, scale insects and spider mites.
How do you care for Medinilla magnifica in winter?
So that the Medinilla magnifica can develop new flowers, you need to keep it a little cooler in winter. Temperatures around 15 degrees are ideal. It shouldn't get cooler than 13 degrees, and the humidity must stay high enough.
During the winter, the plant is watered less and no longer fertilized. In the spring, carefully begin to increase the amount of water again.
Tip
As difficult as caring for the Medinilla magnifica is, it is just as easy to propagate it. All you have to do is cut cuttings seven to ten centimeters long. Roots form after just a few weeks.
